Equal parts life, love & food

Confetti Chicken Pasta Recipe

Confetti chicken pasta is a “recipe” my I-can-make-anything-with-what’s-on-hand momma whipped up back when I was little. It took no time for this to become a family favorite and now she makes it with a rainbow of bell peppers and a spicy cream sauce each time.

Actually, I don’t have her recipe (she’s probably afraid I’d share it… hehe), but I do have a very clear memory of what Confetti Chicken is supposed to taste like. Most of my cooking is that way and I learned how things should taste from the best cook I know!

For me dinner is about sitting down with your family to something that might have taken hours to make, but only a few minutes to eat and savor. You always want more, but there’s no room in your belly so you wake up the next day thinking about those delicious leftovers you’ll have for lunch. Its about layering flavor – opening up the fridge to see what you have on hand that will work well together – and whipping up something you want to eat again and again! (psst…. you are getting a peek of the kitchen in the new place we’re renting)

Here are all the colorful veggies and chicken heading into the sauce and pasta!! Don’t mind the Amy vs. Oven burn on my right hand. That happened the last night before we moved when all was packed and nothing was left in the freezer but a frozen pizza and no utensils…

Here’s the version of Confetti Chicken Pasta that I made last night, but feel free to switch out the type of cheese, veggies and shape of pasta depending on what you have in the house (or what’s on sale!) as I frequently do.

Cook your pasta and let it drain. (tip: I always add a bit of olive oil to my pasta water during cooking so the noodles don’t stick together). Sprinkle the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook chicken until done and golden on all sides. Remove and let rest in a large bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil and begin sauteing the onions for 2 min. Add in the garlic and bell pepper and saute another 2 mins. Then toss in any other woody veggies (broccoli, asparagus) saving the tomatoes until the very end.

When everything is cooked, combine the veggies with the chicken in your big bowl. (I’m all about reducing dishes here) Now its time for the sauce!

Spicy Cream Sauce

In the same pan you cooked the chicken and veggies in, melt the butter over medium heat. Toss in the flour and stir, cooking 1-2 minutes. (We are making a roux)

Slowly add in the half and half while stirring to prevent any clumps from forming. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and allow to simmer until you see boiling action. Stir periodically.

When your sauce begins to thicken and bubble, turn off the heat and add in your cheese. Stir until melty (yes that’s a technical term).

To assemble everything I like to add the pasta first so it gets nice and coated with sauce and then pour the rest of the goodies in. (see photo above). This makes enough for 4 people (or two if you want lunch the next day!)

[…] I think everything I have cooked the past few weeks has been from Pinterest (if you need an invite send me your email address). It’s such a source of everything yummy. This recipe I also found on you guessed it pinterest, from the Bake Cakery. […]

SO great! I made this tonight, and I loved that I could get most of the prep work done before (noodles cooked, veggies all chopped, I grilled my chicken and cut it into pieces) so all I had to do by dinner time was cook the veggies and chicken and make the sauce fresh. And this was the easiest alfredo sauce I’ve ever made! Great recipe!

Just made this tonight. It was soooo tastey and delicious! The other night I made your beef stroganoff also delish! I love your recipes they are easy to follow and no fail. Im just a beginner cook and so far your recipes have been the best. Thank you!

This looks amaaaaaaazing….. any tips on a substitute for the red pepper flakes? my husband’s acid reflux can’t handle even a hint of heat (i know, my meals suffer!) — i’d love to make it if anyone has any suggestions!

I made this lighter and vegetarian with much success! I used skim milk instead of half and half, and thickened it up with low fat cream cheese. Portabello mushrooms replaced the chicken and I threw in 2 cups of spinach because I had it on-hand. Then I gave it the fun name of “Rainbow Pasta” (thanks to the orange & yellow bell peppers) and my kids devoured it!

Found this on Pinterest… Thought about making it several times and never got around to it. I finally made it this afternoon….. WOW! Amazing! I wasn’t raised on a lot of veggies, so I’m rather picky. But I’m getting much much better. I try new veggies often and find that I love them! My husband however is “the more the better” and could probably live as a vegan. So this recipe is a great combination for the both if us! My husband and I loved it! I was told to put this on our favorite recipes list and asked to make it as much as possible!

Hi, I have a question. This recipe looks the most amazing thing in pasta I’ve seen in years. But I live in the UK and have no clue what ‘half and half’ refers to. Could you enlighten me please? Thank you so much! 🙂

Just curious….my man is not a fan of cheese but depending on how its cooked he likes it (might sign oxymoron) so can you use a different cheese like cheddar or mozzarella?? Also can you use frozen broccoli (if so, cook them broccoli first)

Thanks for your tip! The chili flakes I have are from Trader Joe’s and they are the most powerful I’ve ever tasted. If I used a tablespoon it would be inedible, but I love that you can adjust the heat to what you and your family prefer!

[…] both these recipes on, where else but Pinterest! The Confetti Chicken Pasta is courtesy of Bake Cakery and the Breaded Cheese Sticks are courtesy of the Food Network. You can link to theses recipes […]

Taste Great! Love the way you can change it for your family needs. We have made it with and without chicken. I omitted the asparagus and tomatoes and use red, orange, green, yellow peppers, and lots of broccoli. Anyone try yellow squash or zuchinni in it? Wonder how it would turn out. We also have to use A LOT of red pepper flakes, I believe ours is probably just a weak generic brand of them. I also throw in parmesan along with the feta for the sauce, helps makes it thicker and cheesier. Yummy. Must try recipe.

Hi my name is Amy and welcome to my blog, The Bake Cakery. This is a diary of sorts about things that make me happy, inspire me or make me laugh. Check out the about page for more info and info below to see what I'm up to.